Knesset advances bill to delay budget deadline, avert elections

17 August 2020, 8:34 pm

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The Knesset approves in its first reading a bill that will grant the coalition government more time to pass the national budget, averting elections by enabling it to bypass an approaching deadline that is just days away.

The bill, proposed by Derech Eretz MK Zvi Hauser, must pass two more readings before it becomes law, but its future is uncertain, as Likud has not yet committed to supporting it in its second and third readings.

The deadline for the budget is August 25. Under the terms of the bill, that limit would be put off by 100 days until December 3. If the bill or the budget is not passed by August 25 the country automatically goes to elections in what would be the fourth vote in less than two years.